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Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Assessment of Social Interaction Behaviors
06:41

Assessment of Social Interaction Behaviors

Published on: February 25, 2011

A social relations analysis of toddler peer relationships

H S Ross1, S P Lollis

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Child Development
|October 1, 1989
PubMed

Insights

Young children develop unique peer relationships, showing distinct interaction styles and conflict behaviors. These specific relationship dynamics emerge over time, influencing social development in early childhood.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Child Development

Background:

  • Understanding early peer interactions is crucial for child development.
  • Young children's social behaviors in peer dyads are complex and multifaceted.
  • Previous research has not fully distinguished between individual tendencies and unique relationship dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if young children form distinct relationships with specific peers.
  • To differentiate between individual (actor/partner) effects and unique relationship effects in peer interactions.
  • To examine the developmental trajectory of these effects over time.

Main Methods:

  • Employed the social relations model to analyze peer interactions.
  • Observed 32 children (20-30 months old) in play sessions with same-age, same-gender peers.
  • Analyzed interaction initiation, conflict, and contingent behaviors within dyads.

Main Results:

  • Children exhibited consistent individual differences in initiating interactions (actor effects) and eliciting conflict (partner effects).
  • Unique relationship effects were identified in games and contingent interaction, often reciprocal.
  • Relationship effects developed gradually, unlike actor and partner effects which did not increase over time.

Conclusions:

  • Young children do form unique, reciprocal relationships with specific peers.
  • Relationship effects are a distinct component of early peer interactions, emerging over time.
  • Findings contribute to defining the nature of early childhood peer relationships.

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